Britain’s health watchdog has been accused of lacking confidence in the NHS,
after new figures disclose that it is spending more than £250,000 a year on
private healthcare for its staff.

The General Medical Council (GMC) has admitted to providing health insurance to more than 550 employees, at a cost of more than £860,000 in the last three years.

Last night critics said the use of the policy, which is taken up by more than two thirds of its staff, suggested that those in charge of regulating Britain’s doctors have little faith in the care that many provide.

Dr Gabriel Scally, a former member of the GMC’s ruling council, said: “It seems to be totally inappropriate that membership fees which have to be paid by every NHS doctor are being spent on private health cover for those who regulate them. It doesn’t seem to display very much confidence in the NHS.”

Dr Clare Gerada, chairman of the Royal College of GPs said she thought the figures, revealed by Pulse magazine, were “a really unsuitable use” of fees paid by doctors, and a poor message to send to the public.

She said: “I think an organisation like the GMC needs to show more support for the NHS, and that means putting their money where their mouth is.”

The British Medical Assocation (BMA), the trade union for doctors, also disclosed that it offered private medical insurance to some “very senior staff”.

The organisation, which recently campaigned against Government reforms of the NHS, which it says would lead to the privatisation of services did not disclose how much it spent on providing cover, and how many employees take up the offer.

Dr Margaret McCartney, a Glasgow GP and medical commentator said she had written to the GMC after becoming aware of their policy with AXA PPP Healthcare.

She said: “I think its really worrying and raises a whole number of ethical issues. You might think that they lack confidence in the NHS because they see the worst of it, with the doctors that they strike off, but actually there are plenty of cases involving those who work for the private sector."

Dr McCartney said she was “absolutely horrified” that the BMA provided private healthcare cover for some staff, given its recent campaigns against NHS reforms to introduce more use of the private sector.

But Dr Peter Swinyard, chairman of the Family Doctors Association, said he was not against the perk as it could help reduce the burden on the NHS.

He said: ‘When you want to hire good staff you need to offer good packages of renumeration. Even in general practice we offer our management free private healthcare. It pays for itself in terms of time away from work.

“I don’t think it’s a dereliction of the NHS because every time someone sees a private doctor they don’t see an NHS doctor and it frees up that time for someone in the NHS.”

The GMC said a review of the policy last year had concluded that the perk helped to attract and retain good quality staff.

A GMC spokesperson said: ‘Like many organisations, we offer a range of benefits to attract and retain staff. We need to offer a competitive benefits package to recruit and retain the best possible staff from across the private, public and not for profit sectors.

A BMA spokesperson said: “Private medical insurance has been offered only to the few very senior members of staff as part of their remuneration package. It is an optional benefit.

“The remuneration package ensures that we are able to continue to attract very senior members of staff by offering benefits that you might expect from similar roles in similar organisations.”